


surprise addition

by octoaliencowboy



Series: Moments [6]
Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Grayson (Comics)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, All comfort no hurt, Established Relationship, Fluff, Grayson #5, M/M, i guess, not really accidental but i love that tag, very soft thats for sure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-04-05 05:28:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19042060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/octoaliencowboy/pseuds/octoaliencowboy
Summary: Prompt: established relationship dicktiger. Tiger has been gone on a mission longer than expected. When he comes back its with a baby, and a 'can we keep it?' plea barely hidden in his eyes.They can figure out the logistics in the morning. For now, Dick is just glad Tiger is home safe, and so is his impromptu travel companion.





	surprise addition

**Author's Note:**

> I actually,.... already have a separate thing written for them adopting Hafsa that's going in the after school special, but it's always good to explore your options and im off the shits about this baby so

Dick isn’t ready to be a widower. That’s the thought that keeps popping relentlessly into his head, at every inopportune moment. When he’s trying to sleep, when he’s at work, when he’s in the middle of patrol. Every time he catches Tiger’s scent on his pillow, every time he feels the phantom of warmth leftover from a body in the bed next to him. He hasn’t changed the sheets in weeks because of it. He doesn’t want to crawl into bed for the lone hour of sleep he’s been getting a night and not feel a trace of his husband on the fresh sheets.

 

He knows he’d being too melodramatic. He knows he has to pull himself together, he has to snap out of this.

 

Tiger has been gone too long, he insists to himself, even as he has to remind himself that Tiger hasn’t _really_ been gone too long. He hasn’t been gone long enough to warrant a search for him. He hasn’t been gone long enough to be presumed missing or, god forbid, dead. But he has been gone long enough for Dick to miss him so terribly, and he has been gone too long for Dick to feel anything but creeping dread.

 

Tiger _told_ Dick this would be a long and difficult mission. He _told_ Dick not to come looking for him if he didn’t come home on time. But Dick has less than twenty four hours until that ‘don’t come looking for me’ time period is up, and to say he’s nervous is an the understatement of the century.

 

His stomach is permanently stuck in his feet and his heart is permanently stuck in his throat. The anxiety is shredding him up, and for an absurd moment he understands completely why Bruce pushes everyone away and keeps his distance all the time. This is the worst feeling in the world.

 

It’s only so long, though, until this wretched feeling of helplessness will shed like a snake’s skin and Dick will shift into mission mode, donning his nightwing gear and calling Oracle for a favour. Then he will hunt Tiger down and bring him _home_ to him, damn it, but for now, all he can do is wait.

 

Dick can’t sleep, because he can’t stop thinking about where on earth Tiger might be. If he’s okay or if it’s already too late. So he gets out of bed and pulls out some cold case files, and tries to distract himself with work.

 

That doesn’t work, and eventually Dick just finds himself pacing around a dark kitchen. He thinks he might be losing his mind.

 

 _I’m not ready to be a widower!_ Dick is thinking again, just as he hears a creak from across the apartment. He races into the living room and fumbles for the lightswitch. He turns it on, and there is Tiger, standing in the middle of the floor, window open behind him, miraculously unharmed. The relief crashes over Dick like a tidal wave, and even his _bones_ feel light as the weight of his constant worry disappears all so suddenly. He feels like he could just fly away, in that moment. He runs to Tiger instead.

 

Then he spots the baby in Tiger’s arms, and everything stops.

 

Dick freezes less than a foot away from Tiger, his eyes glued to the sleeping child Tiger is holding close to his chest.

 

“I’m sorry I took so long,” Tiger starts to explain. “We had to take many detours. I had to make sure no one was following us.”

 

And, that much makes sense to Dick. But it really doesn’t answer any of the _millions_ of questions racing through his brain right now.

 

Tiger looks like he hasn’t slept in a month. His turban is skewed out of place and there are stains on his clothes. His skin is pale and the bags under his eyes stand out a deep purple. His eyes are wide, and he looks like he might be about to start begging, but Dick isn’t sure what for. Maybe his forgiveness? For worrying him so bad? But Tiger doesn’t need to beg for that. Dick was never angry enough to need to extend a hand of forgiveness in the first place. He’s just happy Tiger is safe. So maybe for something else?

 

“I-- we found her… the whole town was razed to the ground, burnt to unrecognizability… all except her. We couldn’t match her DNA to any of the bodies at the site. I don’t know what it all means. I’m sorry.”

 

Dick stares harder at the baby. He feels like… there’s something bigger going on here. He feels like he knows her already. The baby— on second thought, maybe toddler would be more appropriate— looks maybe two or three years old. She has a smudge of dirt on her brown cheek and old tear tracks on her face. Her clothes are filthy and covered still in old black soot. Her wispy black hair is messy, like someone has spent days with only their fingers to try and brush it with. She really looks like she’s been taken on an impromptu trip halfway across the world. Dick’s heart squeezes painfully for her.

 

“I told my agents I would take her somewhere safe, then came here. I travelled as fast as I could, I swear, but I had to be careful.”

 

“Are there people after her?” He reaches forward and brushes some of the baby’s hair away from her face. She barely stirs, shifting into Dick’s touch, but does not wake. _Poor thing, she must be exhausted._

 

“I have reason to believe so.”

 

Dick strokes a gentle finger from her hair down her round little cheek, and almost goes insane on the spot from how _small_ she is. He loves babies. Adores them.

 

Tiger knows this.

 

“Oh, and… the baby has super strength.”

 

Dick blinks. “What town?” He whispers. No, it can’t be… has it really been so long?

 

“Narjan.”

 

Damn. _Damn_ . Dick keeps his gaze on the sleeping child and his whole chest seizes up when he thinks about Maram and Jamal. _Razed to the ground_ … they were good people, and now this child is left, for the second time, without a family. “Oh, Hafsa…” he murmurs, gently petting her hair. “You’re a long way from home.”

 

“You know her name?” Tiger adjusts the baby in his arms and blinks at him. Dick shrugs.

 

“Yeah, I… it’s a long story.”

 

So Dick sits Tiger down on the couch and tells him everything he can about his and Helena’s mission to retrieve the paragon heart, before Helena became matron. About the woman going into labour, and the plane going down. How the baby survived and the mother didn’t. How the baby had the heart. He tells him about Midnighter and his journey across the desert. He tells Tiger about the couple that found them and adopted the baby and what they named her. He tells Tiger about the lie he gave Spyral in hopes of keeping Hafsa safe. He keeps his voice to a whisper, and Hafsa sleeps through it all. Dick can’t take his eyes off her. Maybe he’s going into shock. Tiger can’t take his eyes off Dick.

 

Tiger nods in understanding throughout the story, frowning then relaxing his face then frowning again. “That explains… everything.” He says.

 

It’s late. Very late. When Dick finishes and looks back up at Tiger he realizes the man is clearly about to keel over in exhaustion. That manic edge of desperation is still in his eyes, and Dick thinks he knows what it’s about, now. When Dick had spent a week travelling with Hafsa, trying to keep her safe, he’d wanted to keep her by the end of it, too.

 

“Here. I’ll take her, now. You go wash up and get some rest. You need it.” Dick holds his arms out in a request to be passed the baby, which Tiger readily fulfills. Hafsa stays asleep when he takes her into his arms, only snuffling slightly as she’s settled again. Dick marvels at how much she’s grown since he last saw her almost three years ago. The weight of her is different now, but still familiar, and he rocks her gently, muscle memory starting to kick in.

 

“The child…” Tiger never finishes his sentence, trailing off as he starts to raise from the couch. Dick smiles, reassuringly, at him.

 

“In the morning. We’ll figure it all out in the morning.”

 

Not where she’s going to live. They don’t need to figure that out— neither man says anything, but Dick has a feeling it’s already been decided. There will be a lot more to think about, though, besides that.

 

Hafsa wakes up almost as soon as Tiger leaves the room. Her little brown eyes blink blearily open, and she picks up her head, looking around curiously. She starts to wriggle when she realizes the arms she woke up in are not the same ones she fell asleep in.

 

“Hi, Hafsa.” Dick coos at her. His Arabic is rusty, but she seems to understand him fine. At the very least, she blinks at the use of her name. “Long time no see.”

 

Hafsa doesn’t really respond, but she does settle back down, laying her head on his chest, right above his heart. Dick wonders if, somehow, she actually remembers him. She certainly seems to trust him. But that could either be a good or bad thing.

 

They stare at each other for a minute or so. Dick continues to rock her even though she doesn’t look like she’s going to fall back asleep any time soon. Dick doesn’t really know how to describe what he’s feeling right now. It’s like a big weird amalgamation of so many different emotions it’s mutated into something strange and impossible to process. The snap from worry to relief upon Tiger’s return was exhausting in and of itself. Dick hadn’t thought he would ever see Hafsa again, and he’d be lying if he said holding her now didn’t make him immensely happy. But he also feels guilt and a deep sorrow, because he wishes he was holding her under better circumstances. Hafsa has already been through far much more than anyone so young deserves.

 

He wishes he could have protected her better.

 

Hafsa breaks the staring contest first. She looks down and shifts against Dick’s chest, rubbing her cheek against the soft, worn cotton of his t-shirt. “Where’s Tig’r?” She mumbles, voice muffled a little. Dick realizes with a start they’re the first words he’s ever heard her speak. It’s almost hard to make the connection between this little person and the infant he’d rescued so long ago.

 

“Tiger’s going to bed. He really needs some sleep. And so do we, really.” Dick says, rubbing up and down Hafsa’s back.

 

“Wanna see ‘im.” Hafsa pouts. Dick knows pouting is a bad habit but damnit if she isn’t _so_ adorable.

 

“Okay.” Dick stands up and carries Hafsa to the bedroom. Now that things have settled down a little and his emotions aren’t running as high anymore he can feel his own tiredness settling in his limbs like lead in his blood.

 

They find Tiger sitting up on the bed, having obviously washed his face and now changed into pyjamas. He appears to be deep in thought, but when Dick walks in with Hafsa he looks up and it passes.

 

“Hello.” Tiger says as Dick softly closes the door behind him. He’s not quite smiling, but he’s also not doing anything to hide the shine in his eyes looking at Dick and Hafsa together. That’s when Dick knows for sure the kid is sticking around.

 

To be honest, the concept scares Dick a little bit. It’s a very big and sudden change, and there’s a part of him that’s afraid he won’t be good at this whole… raising a child thing. But at the same time, a spark of excitement starts to swell in his heart at the thought. He’d been thinking, anyway, about how to start asking Tiger what he thought about starting a family.

 

Hafsa smiles at Tiger, and Tiger smiles back. He smiles so much more than he used to when Dick first knew him, and few things make Dick happier. Tiger shifts his gaze up to look Dick in the eyes, that soft smile still on his face, and that’s when the last of Dick’s fears fade to nothing.


End file.
